Valved fluid pressure accumulator



Dec. 5, 1961 .1. D. LANGDON vALvED FLUID PRESSURE AccUMuLAToR FiledMarch 14. 1960 .//ldl United States Patent 3,011,176 VALVED FLUlDPRESSURE ACCUMULATOR Jesse D. Langdon, 1 John St., East Rockaway 5, N.Y.Filed Mar. 14, 1960, Ser. No. 14,733 4 Claims. (Cl. 4-27) Thisapplication is a continuation in part of Ser. No. 852,110, filedNovember 10, 1959, in turn continuing from Ser. No. 673,815, filed July-24, 1957, now Pat. 2,918,680, December 29, |1959; original applicationMarch 29, 1954, Ser. No. 419,213.

The present application also pertains to application August 19, 1957,Ser. No. 678,799; the constructicnldisclosed by the last mentionedapplication now Pat.- 2,915,- 761, December 8, 1959, is closely relatedto the disclosure of the present application. v

The primary object of this application 4is to protect inventivedisclosure appertaining to timing means to' delay the closure of valvemeans provided to evacuate areservoir forming the fluid pressureaccumulator of the vari- ICC .ing 21 having its'outer end flangedradially inward resting against the `outer face of the handle flangenear its periphery and being attached to the `wall of conduit 5. Thestern 8 of valve 7 hasa lower conical end abutting the conical end ofplunger 18, the coniform ends'providing a wedging effect givingadditional leverage `for tipping valve 7 open more easily. Preferably'the abutting conical ends of plunger 18 and stem 8 are set olf center inaxial relationship producing a lateral frictional conous species of theinvention disclosed by the above recited cross references.

This invention is made for the purpose of obtaining the followingresults: f

l) Simplified construction. (2) Quick opening of the valve for rapidVhuid evacuation. l

(3) Delayed closure of the valve permitting atmosphere to enter theaccumulation chamber of the reservoir after fluid pressure has beenevacuated.

(4) To permit liquid under pressure to flow thru an inlet and bedischarged thru an outlet of greater capacity than the inlet, at one andthe same time permitting atmosphere to enter the accumulation chamber bybypassing liquid flowing from the outlet.

(5) The provision of means providing a llow of liquid from the inletthru the outlet whereby a trap provided for a water-closet is refilledwith liquid after a flushing operation induced by liquid `flowing fromvthe accumulationv chamber. f

(6) The utilization of pneumatic pressure built up by liquid underpressure entering the accumulation chamber via the inlet, whereby liquidis urged to gush thru the outlet accordingly when the valve is opened. v

(7) To provide auxiliary air inlet means in combination with the liquidinlet whereby egress of duid thru the inlet is prevented when a negativepressure exists therein.

Other and further objects and purposes will appear during the progressof the specification, as illustrated by the dra-wing.

The reduction to practice illustrated by the ldrawing is purelydiagrammatic and may be changed within the scope of the claims.

0f the drawing:

The figure of the drawing illustrates a valve tluid pressure accumulatorfor the containment of air and liquid, comprising, a reservoir v1 havinga liquid inlet 2, a combined air inlet andliquid outlet passage 3 ofgreater capacity than said liquid inlet and adapted to communicate withatmosphere at least part of the time when in active use, a valve casing4 being inserted into the lower side of and provided with conduitportion 5 projecting downwardly of said reservoir 1, an annular valveseat 6 projecting radially inwardly, of said conduit portion 5,

a valve member 7 having a downwardly projecting stem A8, an upwardlyprojecting-eyelet 9 and being adapted to tact, this .feature serves -torotate the valve 7 thereby distributing the wear upon the'lowerperipheral edge of the valve head against the'seat 6 by turning thevalve slightly every time the handle 19 is operated..

When the handle 19 is actuated and the Vvalve 7 is opened, the reservoir1' being filled with iluid under pressure inthe shape of air compressedin chamber A above liquid level kW, pneumatic vpressure in chamber4 Aurges liquid to gush forth from passage' 3 much faster than liquid underpressure can enter thru liquid inlet 2, immediately evacuating reservoir1 of liquid except for the relatively small amount of liquid enteringthm inlet 2 and flowing thru passage 3.

yThe ring 10 thru Stem 11, when float 12 is in position O, providespartial closure means for opening 13, delaying closure of valve.7.

The top of cup 15 is located below'fany possible ypredetermined minimumliquid level and is therefore-lilled with liquid when the reservoir isfilled. The opening 13 around stem 11 permits slow drainage of liquidretained in the cup 15, said liquid effective to buoyup flo-at 12 toposition O when the valve 7 is open, thereby holding the valve 7 in openposition after the liquid is evacuated from the reservoir 1, whereupon,atmosphere is permitted to enter reservoir 1 untilcup 15 is` drained.While the valve 7 -is in open position, liquidventering thru inlet 2flows thru passage 3. During the evacuationV of reservoir 1, the weightof the column of, plus the velocity phere immediately bypassingliquid'flowing frominlet 2 and by gravity thru the passage 3 of greatercapacity, enters reservoir 1 balancing the pressure therein until thecup 15 is drained, thereby permitting floatk 12 to drop closing thevalve 7: whereupon liquid under pressure rises above and holds valve 7closed until the accumulation chamber of reservoir .1 is relled withpressure fluid.

Another feature of the invention is that during .the interim when thevalve is held open to permit entry of atmosphere, liquid ilowing frominlet 2 thru passage 3 will provide liquid to refill the trap of lawater-closet if attached thereto.

vAdditional features illustrated by the drawing include an auxiliary airinlet 22 which is shown as communicating with conduit 5 to provideliquid drain if valve 23 leaks. The air inlet 22 may communicatedirectlyV with atmosphere if desired.

It will be noted inlet 2 has its inner end opening spaced from anddisposed opposite to the inner end opening of air inlet 22 which iscapped by check valve 23 having downwardly projecting retaining legs ofgreater length than the space between the opposed inner ends of liquid 3inlet 2 and air inlet 22, whereby the valve 23 will at all times be heldin seating alignment with both inner ends of liquid inlet 2 and airinlet 22.

This construction prevents contaminated `iluid from entering the innerend of inlet 2 when a negative pressure exists therein; at which timeatmosphere entering reservoir i1 thru air inlet 22 is effective to urgevalve 23 upwardly against and close the inner end of liquid inlet 2. Itwill be noted air inlet Z2 terminates slightly below a liquid levelbelow the level of ports 17 where a residuary liquid level is effectiveto minimize noise due to entrance of atmospheric pressure into reservoir1 via air inlet 22.

Having described the invention, the operation thereof and the newresults obtained, the following: claims are made:

1. A valved uid pressure accumulator for air and liquid, comprising atank provided with a liquid inlet, a valved `casing having its upper endinserted into the lower portion of and providing an outlet for said tanknormallyclosed by a tiltable valve member, said outlet being ofsubstantially greater capacity than said liquid inlet to permitatmosphere to bypass liquid flowing thru said inlet to and from saidoutlet; wherein said outlet projects beyond the lower portion of saidtank, a valve seat formed by the `inner end of said outlet, a tiltablevalve member having a head resting on said valve seat and closing saidoutlet, the wall of the upper end of said casing projecting i'nto saidtank and being ported above said valve seat for communicating betweenthehollow of said tank and said outlet, a chamber located above the portedportion of said casing and surrounded by an imperforate wall, a cupsuperimposed upon said charnber, said cup having its bottom providedwith an axial orifice communicating with said chamber, said cup locatedbelow a predetermined liquid level in said hollow of said tank to permitthe cup to till with liquid, a loat in said cup, a stem projectingdownwardly from said float and slidably disposed thru the orifice, arestricted annular passage provided by clearance around said stem topermit flow of liquid from said cup into said chamber, the lower end ofsaid stem projecting into said cham bery and being loosely joinedaxially concomitant said tilt'able valve member; whereby the combinedweight of said float its stem and the valve member will urge said valvemember to close Said outlet after the accumulated liquid content has-been evacuated from said tank andl said cup, said restricted annularpassage permitting liquid to drain from said cup into said chamberurging said valve member toward its seat, a plunger being slidablydisposed thru the outlet wall on a lateral plane with respect to thestem of said valve member and forming actuating means to tilt and openSaid valve member,

vthereby permitting liquid under pneumatic pressure accumulated in saidtank to gush forth, the weight plus the velocity head of liquid flowingthru said outlet tending to create a momentary negative pressure in saidtank, atmosphere entering said tank bypassing the relatively smallvolume of liquid flowing from said inlet thru said outlet to balance thepressure within said tank prior to the closing of said valve.

2. A device of the nature defined by claim 1, wherein the liquid inletconduit and an auxiliary air conduit are extended into said reservoir,the inner ends of both conduits having their end openings opposed to oneanother and being spaced apart, a check valve member normally restingagainst and closing the inner end of the air inlet, guide meansjuxtapositioned with said check valve for holding said check valve inalignment between the opposed inner ends of the liquid and air inlets atall times; whereby when a negative pressure exists in said liquid inlet,atmospheric pressure effective via said air inlet conduit, urges saidcheck valve against and to close the inner end of said liquid inleteffective to prevent backflow of liquid into a conduit connected'to saidliquid inlet.

3. A valved fluid pressure accumulator for air and liquid, comprising atank having a liquid inlet, a valve casing inserted into the lowerportion of said tank, the lower end of said casing providing an outletfor said tank substantially larger than said liquid inlet the upperportion of said casing projecting into said tank, port means thru thewall of said casing immediately above the inside of said tank, a chambersurrounded by an imperiorate wall portion of said casing extended abovesaid port means, cup means surmounting said chamber and disposed below apredetermined liquid level in said tank, float means disposed in saidcup and provided with a stem extended downwardly, slidable thru anoriiice in the cup bottom, said stern projecting into said chamber, saidorifice surrounding an annular passage around said stem communicatingbetween said cup and said chamber, the lower end of said stern beingaxially yaligned with and secured to joining means concomitant the headof a tiltable valve member provided to `close said outlet, an axiallydisposed stem depending from the valve head and extending into saidoutlet, manual tilting means provided concomitant with the wall of saidoutlet and the stern of said valve; wherein the upper end of said outletforms a seat for said t-iltable valve located immediately below saidport means, Said cup being of a height to contain liquid supporting saidfloat to lift the valve head into said chamber; whereby, the valve beingclosed and said tank filled withY an accumulation of air compressedabove liquid in the cavity of said tank and cup to a pressure equal tothe inlet pressure, when said valve is tilted open, releasing thepressure head above said valve, said tioat rising in said cup lifts saidvalve into the chamber above said ports, pneumatic pressure above theliquid effective to quickly evacuate said tank of liquid, liquidremaining in said cup lbeing slowly drained into said chamber via saidorifice delaying the closure of said valve until after the liquidcontent of the tank has been evacuated, said outlet being ofsubstantially greater capacity than said liquid inlet,permitting'communication between the inside of said tank and atmosphereto equalize the air pressure both sides of said outlet.

4. A device of the character defined by claim 3; wherein the dependingstem of the valve member is unguided, relatively large and heavy, thelower end of said stem being coniform, a stemmed plunger having a hangedhead reciprocally mounted in a housing projecting from the outside ofthe outlet, said plunger being held in normal position of rest by aresilient member disposed around the plunger stem between the head ofthe plunger and the outside wall of said outlet, the stem of the plungerslidably disposed thru the outlet wall and provided with a conicalterminal end having its apex projecting against the rounded coniformsurface of the lower end of the valve stem; whereby pressure against theplunger head will cause its stem to urge said valve stem ofi center withrespect to the axial alignment of said plunger, said valve stem of thetiltable valve being unguidedis thrust aside by the impingement of theplunger apex against the rounded coniform surface of the terminal end ofsaid valve stern thereby exerting a frictional Stress laterally,

between the rounded surfaces of the two conical ends tending to rotatethe tiltable valve each time said plunger is activated therebydistributing the wear around the valve head periphery contacting thevalve seat.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSLangdon Dec. 29, 1959

